Milwaukeeans, you have a say in the laws, in services and in our democracy. Politicians are here to serve you. And at WUWM, we are here to help you to make decisions and effect change — from knowing how to vote, to what that referendum on your ballot actually means, to how to have a say in Wisconsin’s and Milwaukee’s budgeting processes.
Through our election surveys, we find out what’s most important to you and tailor our coverage around it.
When candidates are running for office, we ask them the questions you want answered and share out what they believe in WUWM’s Voter Guide.
We report the facts you need to fully participate.
Frequently asked election questions
Where can I find information about candidates and issues?
Listen to WUWM 89.7 FM on your radio or tell your smart speaker to “Play WUWM” weekdays during Morning Edition (5-9 a.m.), Lake Effect (noon-1 p.m.) and All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) Also, visit WUWM.com and the WUWM app to listen to and read our stories.
Ahead of primary and general elections in Wisconsin, WUWM creates a digital voter guide with information on the voting process, how to participate and the elections on the ballot. We break down who the candidates are, what they believe and what's at stake.
How do you gather story ideas?
Story ideas come from just about anywhere. It can be a discussion with a family member or friend that sparks an idea, a conversation overheard on the bus, or something we notice happening in the community. Story ideas also come from you.
This election year, you can inform our coverage by filling out WUWM's voter survey here.
How do you gather and incorporate community feedback into your reporting?
WUWM gathers feedback in a variety of ways — many of our web stories have forms that you can fill out to submit your questions or story ideas. We occasionally distribute surveys and share social media callouts.
Ahead of the November 2026 election, we are checking in on what questions people have related to the election and voting through a voter survey.
WUWM reporters and producers also attend community events — like Milwaukee’s Juneteenth celebration and Puerto Rican Fest — to find out what issues are most important and understand the needs of the people we serve.
Through our everyday reporting, we ask people what issues are top of mind and what they want to know from political leaders.
WUWM then incorporates these perspectives into our election coverage in a variety of ways — from informing what stories we report on, to featuring a community connection in a story, to shaping the questions we ask political candidates and leaders.
We also aim to follow up with community members who appear in our stories so that they can provide additional feedback. Our goal is to answer questions, investigate solutions and be accountable.
This is a work in progress. We are always striving to better align ourselves with your needs.
What races are included in WUWM’s Voter Guide?
WUWM prioritizes primary and general elections that impact people living in southeastern Wisconsin. We focus our efforts on providing information on candidates running in statewide, Milwaukee County-wide and City of Milwaukee-wide elections, as well as on referendums.
For national races, we also include information on candidates running for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives with districts in southeastern Wisconsin.
We may also include additional races — such as southeastern Wisconsin’s legislative districts, Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, Milwaukee Common Council, Milwaukee School Board, regional mayoral races — in our voter guide if it is a competitive race with more than one candidate.
We may also cover a race if there is: community interest, a surprising candidate, new maps or changes in the competitiveness of a race, a potential to change the balance of power.
For the races that we do include in the voter guide, we share information on all of the candidates on the ballot, as long as candidate information is available publicly and/or the candidate responds to requests for information.
What’s WUWM’s approach to reaching out to candidates for interviews? And what do you do if someone doesn’t respond?
In the races we cover, we attempt to interview the candidates ahead of a general election. We give candidates up to two weeks to respond to an interview request or candidate survey, reaching out up to four times via email and/or phone.
If a candidate refuses to do an interview or doesn’t respond, in some cases, we will do a non-interview. This is a story that presents the candidate’s policy stances as we understand them, paired with the questions we are hoping to ask the person.
It airs on Lake Effect and is published online. A Morning Edition and All Things Considered story featuring interview highlights with the candidate’s opponent will say that the candidate refused to do an interview or didn’t respond, and direct listeners to where they can find more information about that candidate.
We take this approach to hold candidates accountable to voters and the people they will represent if elected. In candidate interviews, we do not ask candidates identical lists of questions, and the questions are influenced by what we hear from the community.
When it comes to the presidential election, when do you cover presidential, candidate and surrogate visits?
Presidents: WUWM covers many of the visits to Wisconsin made by sitting U.S. presidents. The factors that determine whether we cover a visit include whether the president’s visit is within WUWM’s listening area or within a reasonable driving distance from the Milwaukee area, and whether NPR is interested in having a WUWM reporter cover the event/visit. WUWM also carries NPR coverage of presidential speeches and press conferences, which take place throughout the year, not just during election seasons.
Presidential candidates: WUWM judges the newsworthiness of visits from candidates for president based a number of factors, such as: proximity to Milwaukee, timeliness of the visit, potential local impact of the announcement/discussion, whether the candidates are reaching out to groups or individuals that are expected to play a pivotal role in the election, and how much attention Milwaukee and Wisconsin are getting from national politicians or media. In addition, a WUWM reporter may cover an event or visit for NPR.
Surrogates: When deciding whether to cover the visit by a surrogate for a president or presidential candidate, WUWM evaluates the position/power that the surrogate holds, the timeliness of the event/visit, the potential local impact of what's being announced/discussed, and how much attention Milwaukee and Wisconsin are getting from national politicians or media. Decisions to cover the events/visits also are determined by how voters and potential voters may respond to the appearance. In addition, a WUWM reporter may cover an event or visit for NPR.
This post has been updated.
Questions? Ideas? We'd love to hear from you.
